One Pun to rule them all! 
Somehow I trust you. But loosing faith in my selfā¦ for some reason 
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Having annoyed Qantas enough with the last flight, I couldnāt see them wanting to take me anywhere else so decided to opt for another of the default XP11 aircraft. The MD-80 looks nice, a bit different inside but similar enough to muddle through. It will also fit the bill for the timescales that I can afford to be flying.
I have decided I need to put more into the planning side and even read a bit about how to program the FMS properly.
Unfortunately my initial attempts at doing things āmore properā caused me a few headaches. Trying to engage the autpilot after punching in all the waypoints had me going out to sea or generally any way I didnāt want to go. This was all very nice and I did get to see the SA coastline and mountain ranges, but it was highlighting that I have a severe lack of knowledge of modern aircraft systems and should never be allowed anywhere near a real flight deck.
Having read a lot more about the autopilot, more on the FMS/CDU, watched multiple videos and had numerous aborted attempts, I think Iāve just about got it and set off.
FACT ā FAOR (Johannesburg, Tambo International)
Starting on the runway, armed with my new found knowledge of the MD-80, I punch in all the waypoints. I couldnāt get the departure point to take the one I wanted to, so ended up with a direct vector to the first waypoint. A bit of a muddle at the far end with a ādiscontinuityā, I couldnāt find a sensible transition, so select something and hope its right.
Waiting to go with Table Mountain in the background - stunning.
Take off number??? (Iāve lost count). Iāve even remembered to put the wheels up this time.
Iām still not sure of how the modes work, but it seems to be a combination of the FMS and VOR/LOC buttons. Definitely more reading required. Eventually my frantic pressing results in NAV TRK on the autopilot readout and we turn to the first waypoint.
Capetown disappearing over the horizon, mountain ranges below
Weāre up at FL300 and everything seems to be going really well for a change and weāre following the waypoints. Its easy this flying lark. 
Its at this point I start having a look at the CDU to try and see if Iāve sorted out the arrival. Iām still not convinced Iāve got it right.
This is what Iām trying to follow āNIBEX2A approach on Runway 03Rā
What I end up doing is getting to NIBEX and then the autopilot heads me at 70 degrees, I know Iām doing something wrong with the transition, again more reading required.
Realising this heading will intercept the centreline Iām wondering if Iāll be able to pick up the localiser, then decide against pushing my luck with the autopilot button presses and switch it off.
Manual approach - check. Off centre line - check. Making the passengers feel uneasy - check.
Downā¦ a bit too hard on the left gear.
Welcome to Joāburg. Its a bit sparse, hope youāve brought a tent.
Another interesting flight even with all the faffing about to get underway. Hopefully the systems fog will clear with each of the next few flights.
Iām blown away with what the default scenery in XP11 looks like and happy I took the leap. Iām another 700 miles closer to home, thereās still a long way to go, but should get there for Easter.
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You sure are - I was starting to get worried when you started flying the box patternā¦
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@Sine_Nomine - top work!
Two more flights done this weekend and Iām now at Entebbe. Will write the reports up during the week.
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A 60 second standard rate turn should put you on a reciprocal courseā¦ well, assuming zero winds
Thatās why Iām a proponent of Immelmanās when I perform procedure turns.
You know, that would work just as well, and it would be far more exciting!
FAOR ā FVFA (Victoria Falls International)
As things have been going so well with the navigation/autopilot, I decided to use the correct time of flight in the evening, rather than change to fly in daylight. The would mean the whole flight would be dark, but Xplane does look good at night. 
A relatively short hop, but perfect for the amount of RL time available
All lined up, the lights of Johannesburg lighting up the night
I entered the route into the FMS and was able to select the right SID and STAR this time. Xplane has had an update since I last flew so Iām wondering if something was fixed.
Climbing out over the city.
The route was straightforward, climb up to FL320, head north into Zimbabwe then back down. What I wasnāt ready for was how dark it was outside. There was very little in the way of lights/roads once I got away from Joāburg.
Nothing to see hereā¦
I passed the time with checking the arrivals chart and trying to work out what I needed to do with the autopilot to get it to pick up the localiser.
I started the descent with around 80 miles to go, noting that the runway was at 3,500 ft. Min altitude is 5000ft, so all looking good. With about 20 miles to go, I could see the runway but it didnāt look right as it appear to be higher than I was currently flying.
8000ftm but the runway ālooksā higherā¦
I double checked the chart and then started to doubt myself and wonder if I was really at 8,000ft. A quick call to the tower for the barometric pressure and it was set right.
Looking out the left window, with the sim unpaused I could see the ground moving. This made me worry even further, so in the end I had to pause and have a look outside. Checking round, all was ok and I think it was mainly due to overflying a road, and the illusion that it was causing.
The autopilot was doing a great job of flying the correct approach and I was fully expecting to be able to get the intercept of the localiser and glideslope working. I shouldnāt have been surprised when nothing happened and again I had to switch off the autopilot and effect a manual landing. Iām still not doing this correctlyā¦ grrrr 
A nice manual landing though, not quite on the piano keys, but reasonably straight. This may be because I didnāt faff about trying to take screenshots.
Heading to the gate
An enjoyable flight in the dark, lessons learned in trusting the instruments and pleased chalking off another leg.
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A toast. To Parrot!
What happened to the crew? Did you eat someone? Did they taste like chicken?? So many questions!!
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This happened to me also quite many times with the DC10 and I am still not sure if the next landing will be different
Exactly why I also flight in the real hours = night. It is sort of ignorance to fly VFR such machine stuffed with expensive instruments 
@Sine_Nomine - Great report! Iām going to have to get a move onā¦
FVFA ā HUEN (Entebbe International Airport)
Needing to find a suitable location to fly to, Entebbe was about the right distance time wise. I know little about the place aside from watching a 70ās film based upon Operation Entebbe - Mossadās rescue of Israeli hostages. Reason enough to go and have a look.
Waiting for clearanceā¦
Climbing out over Victoria falls - a touch disappointing in default Xplane
Cruising at FL320 - all seems to be going well
Descending over Lake Victoriaā¦
Things went pretty well with the flight up to this point, no crashes, route selection and programming in the FMS were ok. A quick check of the manual and I was confident that this time Iād nail the auto land.
Unfortunately after I took the screenie above, the autopilot followed the route to where I thought we should intercept the Localiser and it didnāt. Again I had to quickly disable the autopilot and complete a manual landing. Whilst its not a major thing, its starting to frustrate. Watching videos online, looks easyā¦
Manualing it down the runway at Entebbe international
Entebbe airport was quiet and default. I was at least expecting some remnants of the violent past.
Another one chalked off, Iām five flights from home now, I will nail this damn autolanding before I get back.
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I hate reading manuals. I read manuals at work. Reading the manual is the last thing any sensible person would do because we all know manuals are written by the apprentice who doesnāt want to do the damn job in the first place. You have to spend hours trying to decipher pages of text when you only have five minutes to get the job done. In this case you usually speak to an expert.
The downside is that when you speak with said expert, you usually have to endure the humiliation of ridicule for not knowing something that is so obvious it isnāt in the manual. For me to nail this autoland, I needed an expert. I realised I had no option but to call on the one person that I knew who would know the answer and be able to deliver to me the Holy Grail of an auto landing.
The expert is my Dad. He spends so many hours flying FSX tubeliners, he doesnāt look at his logbook for fear of realising how many hours heās spent flying PC flight simsā¦ He would know what I am doing wrong and would also deliver the humiliation of ridicule in the process, but it would be worth it.
A quick chat over a beer and a few pointers, a gentle bit of riducle, I was armed with his sage advice and his thoughts on where I was going wrong. It was time to put it to the testā¦
HUEN ā HSSS (Khartoum International)
On the ramp
Climbing away from Entebbe
MD-80 looking nice
Even the plane is insulting me nowā¦ (image to the right is a zoom of the centre console)
Nice lighting from the setting sun
All set up on the approach.
Up to this point, Iād pressed the VOR/LOC button. I was at the correct height to intercept the ILS beam. The Autopilot was still in NAV TRK.
The advice from my guru was to not press the VOR/LOC button, but to press the ILS button and let the autopilot keep flying straight towards the runway. ILS button was pressed and nothing happenedā¦
I donāt know what I was expecting to happen, a massive correction maybe and an āIāll take it from here, ladā to come up on the screen? I was about to switch off the autopilot when then this happenedā¦
AUT LND 
I couldnāt believe it. I was elated. I was so elated that I forgot to drop the speed on the autopilot before deploying the last notch of flaps. I was still doing 210 kts as I selected full flaps. The port wing failed and the aircraft rolled to the left, spreading itself across downtown Khartoum.
Iām not going to refly this leg as technically I did touchdown, though I think the damage is too great to buff out. I still donāt have a full auto landing, but its a start.
Four to go.
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Yes, I am somewhere lost, but RL not virtually
Happy to see that @Sine_Nomine you already made it home with all that preceding Antarctica adventures. You were really productive!
So here is the next leg in Western Africa from Libreville FOOL to Dakar GOOY. And I realy dont know how many flights still to go. I am afraid to check with the Easter behind the door already.
Again nice weather so night flight.
Leaving FOOL (was able to PrtScrn the red flash light)
This time I trusted the FSX flight planner = milions of short legs between two milions of intersectionsā¦
These SoftClouds are for sure nice, going up to this hights FL320 and looking great
Say āSoftCloudsā (hope you can see something on the screens)
It is always good feeling when the AP captures the ILSā¦ but I was distracted and screwed something up again on the finals and was too fast and out of the center line so I had to restartā¦ as usualā¦ but second time I landed fineā¦ with AP disengagedā¦
EDIT: I couldnt resistā¦ so I checked anyway and only two hops to home left 
:
Dakar GOOY - Gibraltar LXGB
Gibraltar LXGB - Piestany LZPP
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Having shared the previous MD-82 with the locals of Khartoum a re-build with the timescales left was highly unlikely, so a quick deal was made with the SAS (not that one) - the Scandanavian Airlines who agreed to take us on the next few legs as far as Munich.
HSSS ā HECA (Cairo International Airport)
Departing Khartoum
Over the Sudanā¦
Enter Sandman
Coming in to land over Cairo
All looking good and with new confidence with navigation, approaches and the autopilot all was looking good for an approach onto the 05R longer runway. As we descended the runway didnāt ālookā right, so I switch off the autopilot and took over. Touching down it was like a rollercoasterā¦
āJust chuck the tarmac down Mick, donāt bother with the roller, theyāll never noticeā
The Shareef donāt like it
Rock the Kasbah
Eventually we skidded to a halt, fortunately with no explosions.
Keets X-Plane pilot information service - land at 05L or 05C until there is another s/w update.
A quick turnaround for this flight as there was fair winds in RL this weekend and time to get another one in to Malta.
HECA ā LMML (Luqa - Malta International Airport)
Departing Cairo on the centre runway - We donāt need no stinking pyramids.
Ice cold in Alex - Turning right over Alexandria
Over Marsa Matruh
Tobruk
Almost done with Africaā¦
Nearly back in familiar territoryā¦ over the Med.
Trying to select an approach for LMML, I got a warning that the approaches werenāt available and to report itā¦ thatās all well and good, but I have approach and auto land skills I want to practise. Looks like Iām going to have to do some pilotty stuff.
Nice height, all looks good with the PAPIS.
Parked up with the sun just going down.
For anyone with a longing to fly to Malta, there is a great addon scenery that is hopefully coming soon which looks amazing, I was hoping it was released, unfortunately not, so was stuck with default furniture.
Two more done with two to go.
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Good choice. Was always wondering what level of simulation to expect from the Virtavia aircrafts.
@Sine_Nomine how is the Canberra simulated system wise? I mean systems used inflight, not much interested in the cold 'n dark.
Exactly @keets, I have the same experience as stated somewhere in my previous post
And āmassive correctionsā I usualy experience when I screw something up, so quite often - too high too fast and off rwy center line - and then the ILS do what it does best in that situation - tries to kill my crew
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